Guest blogger Amy Monroe is a 5th grade math teacher who resides in the suburbs of Dallas, TX with her husband (a professor) and three young children. Passionate about equipping future generations with the educational skillset they’ll need for success, Amy not only teaches children, but also teaches others to teach through her participation in nationwide teacher learning programs throughout the year. When Amy isn’t busy teaching, she loves going on hikes with the family, helping out at the local humane society, and reading history books.

Our family is spending this summer traveling the U.S. in our retro-chic Houston Airstreams travel trailer. Yes, all 6 of us, 2 adults, 3 kids, and our pup are all spending lots of quality time exploring America and living in very tight quarters. So far, we are a couple of weeks into our travels, courtesy of Airstream of DFW, and have another month and a half to go. While this travel is a great educational experience for all of us, I wanted to make sure the kids didn’t forget everything they’ve learned in school this past year. According to edutopia.org, a non-academic summer can cause students not only to not progress in their learning but to actually digress two to three months with their academic skills. As educators, my husband and I have both seen this firsthand. The first couple of months of the fall semester are always spent trying to repair the foundation that should have been firmly built the year before.

So before we left this summer, I took some time to put together a game plan to keep all three kids sharp on their academic skills while we vacation. In addition to a daily family reading time to keep those English skills progressing, we’ve also made a point to devote time each day to science and math studies so they can retain the skills they’ve learned and keep moving forward. Here are some ideas for keeping your young scholars engaged and growing this summer:

1. Tablets

Tablets have revolutionized road trips with the kids, turning hours of whining and backseat drama into hours of peaceful quiet. Since we are spending the entire summer on the road, we broke down and purchased a 3^rd tablet so all three kids can have one to use. Additionally, we bought a Verizon wireless router, that enables us to have wifi on the go, so we can connect the tablets. Now, the kids aren’t allowed to do just whatever they please on the tablets. They can only be used to play educational games, while we are in the car, not just stream hours of mindless movies and TV shows. Hands down, the kids’ favorite app is ABCYa, which has educational games created by an educator for kids grades K-5. They could literally spend hours playing games like Adventure Man and the Counting Quest or Colin’s favorite, Paint Ball Ascending Numbers. We love it because it keeps them entertained AND it’s educational.

2. Museums and Observatories

This country is full of wonderful museums that can teach your kids about everything from state history to astronomy. Make it a point this summer to take family trips to your local museum or make them a stop on your family vacation. Our favorite educational stop so far this summer was to McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas. The visitors center had wonderful exhibits filled with information about astronomy, plus the kids had a blast learning about the massive telescopes used by the researchers. After sticking around for the after dark Star Party, all three kids were enamored with space. They spent the next week talking about it and begging for books on the subject.

3. Summer Reading List

Everyone in the family has a summer reading list! For Phil and me, it’s more for entertainment purposes, but for the kids, its’ crucial that they be motivated to keep sharpening their reading skills over the summer so they’re ready for next year. In addition to packing a few books from home, we’ve been making use of the Dallas Public Library’s eBook program, which allows us to download books onto the Kindle app on our tablets and phones. Each child was allowed to pick a prize (think $10 stuffed animal) that they are working to earn by reading at least 10 books off of their summer reading list. Sophie, who just finished kindergarten is currently really into Clifford books, so we are hearing all about that big red dog, while Colin is reading the Boxcar Children books and Anabel is currently engrossed in Anne of Green Gables and the Little House on the Prairies series. After the kids read each book, they have to write a brief synopsis of the book (except for Sophie) in order to receive a star that goes towards their grand prize at the end of the summer. If you need help coming up with an age-appropriate reading list for your children, you might want to look into the American Library Association list here, or check out the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.

4. Inspiring Creativity!

Giving kids an artistic outlet is something that always seems to take a backseat to a textbook education. Even if they don’t turn out to be the next Van Gogh, kids can benefit greatly from artistic expression. It’s been shown that art stimulates the right brain, which is important for sparking intuition and creativity. To allow our kids the freedom of expression, we brought along a few compact watercolor sets so they can paint the scenery as we unwind at our various campsites this summer.

I hope this list helps inspire you to keep your children engaged and learning this summer!